


Little Jimmy Kirk is not alone

by weegie8



Series: Papa Spock [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-02-20
Packaged: 2018-01-13 04:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1213459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weegie8/pseuds/weegie8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hello, Jim,” he says when he notices that he is staring at him. Blue, his eyes are extremely blue. “I am taking you home to Earth.” Or the one where Spock Prime comes back and ends up raising newborn James Kirk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Jimmy Kirk is not alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amechiro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amechiro/gifts).



> Wrote this from an idea my dear Karen mentioned one time. I have many ideas and headcanons for this world.

The first thing Spock sees when he exits the black hole is destruction. It is far too obvious that Nero had been here. He guides the Jellyfish through debris, but whatever ship had been here has obviously been lost beyond any form of help. He spares a brief moment for their loss, searching his instruments for any signals or signs of life. There is nothing, which is a relief in regards to Nero, but not for the loss of beings aboard the Federation ship.

No, wait, there. Just at the edge of sensor range, a shuttle craft is broadcasting a distress signal. He urges the Jellyfish towards it, building speed until it is in sight. It is quite old, a model Spock would say has not been used for almost a hundred years, and damaged. He opens hailing frequencies but gets no response, so he sends commands through his ship, taking control of the other’s systems and docking them together. It is not a fix he can sustain for long, but all he needs is a chance to check the other shuttle. Curiously enough, the readouts say this shuttle belongs to the USS Kelvin, a ship familiar in Spock’s memories. Even so, that does not prepare him for what he finds inside.

His eyes take in the small shuttle quickly, scanning everything for potential dangers and people in need of help. There’s a being to the immediate left, long gone. The pilot of the shuttle had not fared any better. On the bed curled in a ball is a living human, but Spock notices, with sorrow, that she does not have long left. He moves closer to inspect her, to see if he can ease her pain in any way, when he notices she is curled around something. Some _one_. An infant child that cannot be more than hours old. Startled, he attempts to ascertain what state the child is in. He finds himself strangely invested as he scans vitals, formulating plans and supplies for the child already.

Healthy. He would live. His mother, however… it would seem that childbirth had gone without major complications, and her death had more to do with what had happened to the shuttle afterward. That was sad on its own, but when she finally moved her head, just enough to look Spock in the eyes, he felt dread. For he knew that face, from long ago, in his bonded’s memories.

“Winona Kirk.”

“Do I-?” She can barely speak. Instead she studies him, fighting to keep her eyes open for that second longer. “James. Tiberius.” She nudges her arms forward by the smallest fraction. “Please.” Spock shakes himself out of it, scooping the child into his arms, hushing him as he starts to fuss. “Thank you.” She manages, conveying a gratitude Spock cannot begin to comprehend.

“It will be my honour,” he promises her. She gives her son her last smile.

Spock cradles the baby close to him, the small child with so much ahead, with no idea of it, or what he’s just lost. He had a new duty now, to protect this little one. It would possibly be his greatest task, since he last stood on that bridge, at his T’hy’la’s side.  

He collects any safe supplies he can salvage that he does not have on his own ship, and heads back. Once everything is secured he creates a makeshift portable bed for the child, carrying him out in it to the command chair. Disengaging from the shuttle he lays in a course for Earth and turns to study the child.

Jim. This is _Jim_.

Spock is quite capable at adapting, has always needed to be, but right now he needs a moment to process it all. Time travel and alternate realities he has done time and again. But this is new.

“Hello, Jim,” he says when he notices that he is staring at him. Blue, his eyes are extremely blue. “I’m taking you home to Earth.” He did not know how different things were here, but he very much suspected that Jim had no family left now. Sole responsibility would fall to him. And he would embrace it. “We shall go to your place in Iowa, I think. I will raise you there, away from any dangers. Of the space kind,” He amends knowing that any child, let alone one named Kirk would surely find danger. “I promise to be a fair care giver, and provide you with everything you will need. You are not alone in this universe, James Kirk.” And, Spock supposed, neither was he.

-

Spock is working at his desk when the baby monitor starts to flash, alerting him to movement in Jim’s crib. He listens for a moment, putting his PADD down when he senses that he is about to cry, and heads straight to his room. Spock has found his Vulcan side to be quite advantageous with caring for a child; he has become quite attuned to Jim and his needs, and, sometimes most importantly, is able to forgo more sleep than the average human can afford to.

The past week had been somewhat worrying. Jim had had a cold, leaving Spock sharing his misery as he cared for him. However, now the boy was recovered Spock was puzzled as to his cause of distress.

“What is wrong, Jim?” He asks, placing two fingers to his tiny forehead just in case. The touch revealed no raised temperature; it did, however give insight to the child’s emotions. After a week of constant care and contact with Spock, he was merely feeling lonely. “You desire to be held?” His only answer is a tiny sound. “Sometimes I miss your fluency in multiple languages,” Spock comments, lifting the child. “I am currently engaged in correspondence with Christopher Pike regarding matters of the USS Kelvin and her attacker.” He tells him as he heads back to his desk, a habit he began some time ago of simply speaking, explaining what he was doing or recounting events for Jim. It seemed to comfort the child. “I have told you of Pike, my captain before Kirk, before. It is quite odd at times, the majority of our old friends are but infants, and he is still alive. Of course you know nothing of them, not yet. I do hope that one day you find yourself with them in your crew. It is your first, best destiny to be a captain, Jim. Perhaps one day it will once again be with them by your side.”

-

Spock experiences all the proud moments of parenthood; of hearing Jim’s first words, witnessing his first steps, helping him to read and write, and other such small moments Spock treasures. He also has the less pleasant moments of when Jim was teething, when he first wandered off on his own, and accidents such as falling from a tree. Spock decided to use these more as learning curves.

Jim’s first day at school, however, is a mix.

Jim is an intelligent boy, something Spock had no doubt of, but his development growing up did nothing but confirm this. However, he is still a boy, and Spock decided that he would not merely home school him. He would interact with others his age, learning what he could in class and Spock planned to supplement and extend on those teachings. Jim was eager to make new friends and meet his new teacher, but had quietly confessed that he would miss Spock.

“I shall miss your presence also, Jim. But this will be a new experience for you, and you will come home every day to inform me of everything you have been doing. I will always be here.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

So he had walked him into his classroom, helped him set up his desk, and bid him farewell. At the end of a day where surprisingly very little of substance had been achieved, he returned to the school to pick Jim up and was asked to see the teacher. Somewhat concerned he enters her office to find Jim seated in front of her desk, arms crossed and staring at a random point on the wall. When he sees Spock he starts to straighten, then slumps back down, worried about his reaction.

“If everything alright?”

“Please sit, Mr…”

“Spock.”

“Mr Spock.” It had been some time since he had been called that! “I have asked you here today due to the fact that your son was involved in a physical fight.” He does not correct her, he had found it was often easy to allow others to simply go along with their assumptions, and turns to Jim.

“Is this true, Jim?”

“… Yeah.”

“I can understand that this can be a new, exciting, and even scary experience for the children, especially seeing as this is the very first day. But for those same reasons I believed we should address this now.”

“Indeed. Jim, can you tell me what happened?” He did not expect Jim to get along well with every student in his class, but he did not expect it to have resulted in a fight so early.

“We were doing introductions and talking about the planets we come from and all that. And I said I was human, but you were Vulcan, and how cool Vulcans are.” Spock stamps down his pleased amusement at that, focusing on the fidgeting boy. “There was this boy, Peter, and he said Vulcans suck.”

“And so you responded physically?”

“No! ... Not at first. You always said to use your words first. So I used words.”

“But?”

“But he was stupid. And…” He trails off, searching for a word. “A bigot. And he tried to tell me that you can’t love me because you’re a Vulcan. And I’m sorry.” Spock looks to the teacher with what he hopes isn’t too angry of a stare.

“The boy is being spoken to by his parents right now,” She promises.

“Very well. If I may take Jim now?”

“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow, James.” Jim nods and scampers off his chair and out the door leaving Spock to follow after. He corners the boy near the front gate, most of the school deserted by now.

“Did you respond to his words because they hurt you?”

“Yes.” Jim answers while staring at the ground.

“Do you…” And he is scared to finish that question. He shouldn’t be, logically, he knows, but this is a matter of emotions. “Do you believe them in any way? That because I am Vulcan I cannot care for you?” Like his parent, _human_ parents, could have done.

“No, course not. He was being stupid. You don’t say it a lot, but I know.”

“You can be profound at times, Jim.”

“Thanks, I think. Now can we go home? I already did my homework so I wanna play some games, if that’s okay.”

“Of course.” They walk out of the school grounds, and Jim doesn’t hold onto his robe like he used to, but they’re side by side and Spock can feel Jim’s worry and anger slip away into contentedness.

An interesting first day indeed.

-

Jim hears the boys scoff and giggle. “Look at his ears.” His face flushes red, from anger mostly, as he has heard similar comments about his guardian for as long as he could remember. He whips around the corner, ready to defend him when he sees they’re not looking at who he expects.

No, it’s a Vulcan boy, about the same age as himself. This does nothing to abate his fury. Pulling back a fist, he charges forward with a yell, hitting one kid straight in the face. The second and third whirl around to face him, and soon enough it all devolves to wrestling in the dirt, fists and feet flying as most of his Papa’s training leaves him. The third, much larger than the others, has Jim pinned by the end of it. This is when the Vulcan steps forward, gripping at his shoulder, then his neck, and then the boy slumps forward.

“Whoa!” Jim says, slithering out from under the unconscious bully. “You totally just Vulcan nerve pinched that guy!”

“You know of the pinch?” The Vulcan suddenly speaks.

“Yahuh,” He wipes at his bloody lip, dusts off his hand and holds it out. “Name’s Jim. Oh! Ah, sorry about that,” He withdraws his hand as he remembers the no touch thing most Vulcans normally do. He was more accustomed to one who did not shy from contact.

“Fascinating.”

Jim giggles, loving how he says the word he’s heard so often. “What is?”

“You are versed in Vulcan customs?”

“Yep. So, what’s your name?”

“Spock.” The boy announces.

“What? No way, that’s so cool.”

“… What does the temperature have to do with my name?”

“Haha, no, uh, it’s a Human expression. To express… greatness?” Papa had taught him many things, such as manners, cultural etiquette, and that sometimes these things simply needed to be explained to a non-human.

“Indeed?” Poor Spock looked puzzled.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m told us humans can be quite illogical,” Jim says, as if letting Spock in on a great secret.

“That I can believe.”

Jim grins. He liked this kid a lot already.

“I’m home!” Jim calls out and Spock smiles, pushing away from his desk planning to make something to eat as he listens to Jim excitedly talk about his day. He sounds in quite the good mood this afternoon.

Jim is dragging along another child with him, an impressive feat considering he is managing to do so without touching him. Jim had learnt how to ‘herd’ Spock which way he wanted him some time ago, something he found endlessly amusing. Spock is prepared to greet the new boy and offer him something for a snack when he realised exactly who it is. Oh. Jim had found Spock’s younger self. How unexpected.

“Hey, hey Papa, guess what? His name’s Spock too!”

Very unexpected indeed.


End file.
